Boulder Ironman 70.3

Yay, it's done!  Not the full Ironman of course, but a brutally hot half-Ironman. Its the third time I've done this race and I do wonder why on earth I chose to get up at 3:00 AM (really) to propel my body over 70.3 miles, esp when the last 13 miles are in 90 degree heat.

But I'm happy to report that I'm satisfied with my performance. Anyone who knows me will agree that I don't say that very often. But I really am.

So, for anyone interested, here's my race report:

The swim (1.2 miles in Boulder Reservoir)
The race started at 6:30 and my wave was supposed to start at 6:40. But because the first wave was delayed, I think we actually started closer to 6:45. No biggee, I was just glad to be in one of the first waves for once. Last year, I was in the last one and the year before, the 2nd to last.

Both Brenda and I were in the same wave because we're both in our 40's (she's 44 and I'm 49). This was Brenda's first half and she was pretty nervous about it (understandably so - I was that way too when I did my first half-IM). 

The gun went off and off we went. It was very congested in the beginning, more than I expected. It took several minutes before I was able to actually swim. It reminded me of the Ironman when you see (and feel) arms and legs thrashing all around you. I was amazingly calm and just waited until I could stretch out and actually swim.

When I finally did start swimming, I felt great. The water was warm (I wore my sleeveless wetsuit) and the cones were on my right, which worked well since I turn to the right. I sighted often and stayed on track for the most part. I felt fine the whole way, never felt tired at all. To think that just 2 yrs ago I was having panic attacks in this same lake, at this same race. Wow, I've come a long way when it comes to swimming.

Total swim time was 38-something, five minutes faster than last year! Yay!

T1
I ran to get my bike but needed to make a pitt-stop in the port-a-pots. I almost didn't, thinking I could stop on the bike, but decided it would be better to go now than have to stop. Even though my T1 time ended up being super long (some 8 mins), I still think that was the right decision. I do need to speed things up, however, because this ended up putting me over the 6 hr mark - dang!  I didn't need to put on bike gloves and probably shouldn't have chatted with the gal next to me either - all things that add up.

Bike
There was good and bad to the bike portion of the race. The good: I love my bike!  It was the first time I rode with racing wheels and it went well. I kept a good steady pace and was able to finish under 3 hrs, which was my goal. The bad: I found myself still very scared of the fast descents. I braked on sections that I wouldn't normally brake on, which really slowed me down. Lots of people passed me in those sections. I went very conservatively on the first loop and then sped up on the 2nd loop. The whole time i felt like I could go faster, which in a way is good. Its not like I went all out and that was my time. I know I can go faster with a little more training and getting used to going fast again. I was also thrilled that nothing happened - nothing came off, no flats, no crashes - yay!

T2
My 2nd transition was not as slow as the first but still way too long. I needed to make another pitt-stop and due to female-related issues I was having that day, it took longer than normal. But can't really do anything about that! I took off my singlet and opened a bottle of Boost too, which took a little time. I'm not really too worried about these longs transition times because they are all things that I can easily change.

Run
Now for the hard part. At least that was what I was thinking. I had fully prepared myself for a crappy run because I hadn't run over 10 miles in many, many months. I've been battling plantar fasciatus in my left heel and a weird, painful injury in my left hip for months so had really cut back on the running. But I was able to take off jogging rather easily and I ran the entire way. I made one really quick pitt-stop about mile 9 (and wished that I hadn't because I didn't really have to go) but other than that, I ran the whole way and I'm very happy about that. REALLY happy about that. Running is so near and dear to my heart that to run like that on such a hot day, after riding 56 miles, was like being handed a gift (thank you, God!). It was a very slow run - 2:16 - but considering how little I had been running and the heat, etc, I'll take it!

I really think my running experience got me through it. There were several times I wanted to stop and people were dropping like flies all around me, but I kept going. Call it muscle memory or total denial but whatever it was, I am glad I kept going.

Now if I can only do that in the full Ironman!

Sarah and Brenda did really well - both well under 6 hrs - and Marshall did "as well as his fitness level would let him". Jim finished 3rd in his age group and Jade said he did ok (not great but not bad either). All in all, a good day for the Greeley Triathlon Club!